World Neurosurg
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Acute subdural hematoma (ASDH) leads to the highest mortality rates of all head injuries with secondary brain damage playing a pivotal role in terms of morbidity and mortality. In patients with ASDH, a delay in surgery leads to disproportional mortality. The benefit of (very) early therapy is therefore, a target of ongoing research. As the process of delayed brain damage in ASDH has not yet been described, this study therefore aimed to examine secondary lesion growth in an experimental rat model of ASDH to define the ideal timing for testing potential neuroprotective therapies. ⋯ The most damage develops between 15 minutes and 1 hour and again between 2 and 6 hours after ASDH. The time course of lesion growth supports the approach of early surgery for patients. It furthermore constitutes a basis for further ASDH research with more clearly defined time windows for therapy in animal models.